Making Your Lemonade
Sweet & Salty Healthy Trail Mix

Sweet & Salty Healthy Trail Mix

by | Aug 18, 2022 | Recipes

Here, I present to you a very hearty and healthy trail mix that combines sweet, salty, and savoury flavours into one simple, satiating, and convenient snack, to satisfy all kinds of cravings. It is completely vegetarian, and can easily be made vegan (see below). It should also be gluten-free, if all the ingredients are uncontaminated (see below). 

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Potentially Non-Perishable

Fortunately, this recipe falls into the category of being non-perishable, as long as you exclude the popcorn, since the oil(s) from the popcorn can make the mix go rancid! Perhaps the recipe still keeps well with the popcorn added to it, but I have not experimented with this. But if you do happen to try it out, feel free to let me know how it works out for you by leaving a comment below.

Related: How to Reduce Food Waste

Some ingredients needed to make the trail mix recipe include goji berries, dried coconut and nuts
Some of the ingredients you will need.

I adore non-perishable recipes that can just be kept in the pantry for months and months. Like everyone else, I hate wasting food and money, so I very much appreciate foods that have an extremely long expiration date. I love that I can make a big batch of this once and have a healthy, convenient snack that’s ready-to-go for months (if you exclude the popcorn).

It’s nice to keep a bag of this with you when you go out, as well as in your car (if you have one), desk, or a purse/bag, for a convenient snack option when you’re hungry that is both healthy and satiating. If you wish, you can divide the recipe into ziplock bags so it’s already portioned and ready to go when you need it.

Introducing Goji Berries: A Dried Superfruit

I’m not normally a big fan of using dried fruit in recipes because they tend to lack nutrients compared to fresh fruit, while also having high sugar content. However, coconut is an exception for me because it contains much less sugar than other kinds of fruits. 

Goji berries (Amazon), which are shown in the images below, are also an exception for me because they are a superfood and are extremely high in vitamins—specifically vitamins C and A—despite being dried!

Dried goji berries make a delicious and nutritious snack
Dried goji berries

They have incredible medicinal properties, as they have been linked to improving eye health, immune function, sleep quality, mental health, healthy skin, and even providing protection against cancer, just to name a few of their many impressive health benefits. 

You can read more about the remarkable qualities of this impressive fruit via the Web MD and Healthline websites.

Fresh goji berries

How to Make This Recipe Vegan

This recipe can easily be made vegan if you make your own kettle corn and replace butter with a vegan substitute, like margarine, or a healthier oil, such as coconut oil. Since this recipe already contains dried coconut, I assume using coconut oil to make the kettle corn would be delicious, but I haven’t tried this.

Healthy trail mix spilled out of a glass jar

Is This Recipe Gluten-Free?

This recipe should be completely gluten-free, unless of course some of the ingredients, like popcorn, are contaminated with gluten (e.g., if it’s prepared in a facility that processes gluten-containing products).

Healthy trail mix in a bowl
Sweet and salty healthy trail mix in a glass jar
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Sweet & Salty Trail Mix

Course Snack
Cuisine American
Keyword gluten-free, Quick, Vegan, Vegetarian
Prep Time 5 minutes
Total Time 5 minutes
Servings 5 cups

Ingredients

  • ½ cup unsweetened coconut chips
  • ½ cup – 1 cup goji berries, depending on how sweet you want it to be
  • ½ cup almonds
  • ½ cup cashews
  • ¼ cup pecans
  • 2 cups popcorn (make your own kettle corn if vegan)
  • 1/4 tsp salt optional
  • 1/4 cup Dark chocolate chopped, optional

Instructions

  • Combine all ingredients into a bowl and mix thoroughly.
  • Sprinkle with salt to taste.
  • Enjoy!

Please let me know what you think of this recipe by rating it and/or leaving a comment below!

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Creamy Banana Zoats (Zucchini Oats)

Creamy Banana Zoats (Zucchini Oats)

by | Aug 17, 2022 | Recipes

There are so many things I love about this banana zoat recipe! In fact, here’s a list of everything I adore about it:

Some ingredients required for banana zoats (zucchini oats)
  • Simply put, this recipe is a pleasure to the senses. I love all the texture in it, created from the mixture of chia seeds, crunchy hemp seeds, creamy peanut butter and banana, and juicy fruit. The lovely array of fruits also make it rich in colour, creating a very pleasurable sensory experience not only in terms of taste, but in sight and touch, as well. For this reason, I love presenting this recipe to people, since it looks so beautifully delicious.

  • I love the fact that you can’t really taste any of the zucchini in it at all, since zucchini—especially cooked zucchini—is pretty mellow and kind of takes on whatever other tastes are present. This makes it a perfect meal to make for anyone who struggles to eat enough vegetables, as it allows you to get about 1 serving of vegetables (1 serving is equivalent to about ½ cup of vegetables), without having to endure the typically strong yet bland taste of vegetables.  

  • I find that this recipe is fairly filling and can keep me going for quite a long time. This is probably because the protein from the seeds and the peanut butter make it very satiating. This makes it an ideal meal to have on days when you are incredibly busy all day. But if you want an even bigger protein boost, feel free to add in about a half scoop of protein powder. If you do this, then of course, first try adding a little protein powder at a time and taste it before adding an entire half scoop.

  • I love that it’s a high-volume meal, so if you love eating as much as I do, you will definitely appreciate how much food this recipe yields! For this reason, I wasn’t sure whether or not to divide one serving into two servings, so in the recipe below you’ll see that I’ve stated that it serves 1-2 people, depending on how much you eat and what your appetite is like when you make it. If you’re not feeling too hungry and you just want to make it for yourself, then I would suggest making half of it, unless you want leftovers (but it is definitely best fresh).

With just a few simple ingredients, this recipe is incredibly easy and healthy to make!

How to Make it Vegan:

This banana zoat recipe can easily be made vegan, as long as you use a dairy-free alternative to dairy milk, such as soy milk, but adding milk isn’t even completely necessary, and you can definitely omit it altogether if you want. Just be sure to replace the amount of milk required in the recipe with water. Also add extra water if it is still too “dry” for your liking, of course.

Gluten-Free:

This recipe should be gluten-free, as long as none of the ingredients are contaminated with gluten. Pure oats can sometimes contain traces of gluten if they are processed in a facility that also processes grains that contain gluten, such as wheat. 

Other Ways to Use this Recipe (you may need to make adjustments to the ingredients and quantities required):

  • To make cookies
  • To make muffins
  • To make banana zucchini bread

You could make banana zucchini bread out of zoat recipe

I haven’t tried any of these suggestions out yet, so let me know in the comments section below if you try any of them, what adjustments you’ve made (if any) to the ingredients and quantities required, and how they work out overall for you!

To Reduce Food Waste:

You can try freezing the unused portion of the banana in a ziplock freezer bag. Bananas tend to last very well in the freezer (for up to 3 months, approximately). They work amazingly well in smoothies, as their thick, creamy texture seems to be amplified when they’re frozen. Just be sure to remove their peel prior to freezing them, as it’s much more difficult to remove it when they’re frozen. For more tips on reducing food waste, please check out this post.

Healthy, creamy zucchini oats
Bowl of banana zoats (zucchini oats) outside with fresh fruit on top
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Creamy Banana Zoats (Zucchini Oats)

Course Breakfast, Main Course
Keyword gluten-free, Quick, Vegan, Vegetarian
Prep Time 3 minutes
Cook Time 12 minutes
Total Time 15 minutes
Servings 1

Ingredients

  • 1/3 cup whole rolled oats
  • 1 cup water
  • ½ zucchini, grated
  • ½ Banana, mashed
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • ¼ – 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 tsp peanut butter
  • 1 tbsp chia seeds
  • 1 tbsp hemp seeds
  • ¼ cup milk of your choice
  • Berries or other kind of fruit, for garnish
  • Optional add-ins: whey powder, stevia, monk fruit, etc.

Instructions

  • Mash the banana in a bowl.
  • Add the water to a pot and bring to a boil.
  • Lower heat to a low-medium temperature and stir in the oats. Let it simmer, stirring frequently, for about 3 minutes.
  • Stir in the milk, mashed banana, and shredded zucchini and continue to cook until the oats are completely cooked and the desired consistency is reached. While cooking it, add extra milk or water as soon as you find the mixture starts to get dry or stick to the bottom, or if you want a thinner consistency.
  • Turn off the heat and mix in the cinnamon, vanilla extract, and peanut butter. You can also add stevia, monk fruit, or whey powder at this stage, which is completely optional. A few drops of stevia or monk fruit go a very long way, so be sure to taste it before adding another drop.
  • Stir in the chia seeds and hemp seeds. Top with your choice of fruit and any other add-ins, and it’s ready to be enjoyed!

Please let me know if you enjoyed this recipe by rating it and/or leaving a comment below!

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Doughy & Moist Keto Almond Chickpea Cookies

Doughy & Moist Keto Almond Chickpea Cookies

by | Aug 16, 2022 | Recipes

Chickpea cookies sound extremely gross and intimidating to eat, I know. But trust me, you won’t be able to taste any of the chickpeas in them! I’m sure others won’t even be able to guess that chickpeas were added to them!

I am definitely not the first person to introduce the concept of using chickpeas in cookie recipes. In fact, I first heard about this idea many years ago, but I don’t remember which website it was from. Nevertheless, I never forgot that I made cookies with chickpeas! 

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You can find many chickpea recipes for peanut butter chocolate chip cookies online (which are delicious by the way—that’s what I made when I first made a chickpea cookie recipe). But since I’ve always been more into butter cookies and anything almondy, I thought I’d try combining these two food loves by making buttery almond chickpea cookies. I’m so glad I did, because they turned out delicious!

These Cookies are Extremely Soft, So Be Careful with Them!

What I love about working with chickpeas in cookie recipes is that they keep the cookies incredibly soft and moist, making them seem much more special (at least in my opinion) than the typical hard cookies that you’ll find at most superstores. 

Having said that, it is worth noting that these cookies do not harden or stay fully intact like regular cookies. They will be extremely delicate and soft to the touch, especially when you first take them out of the oven.

However, they will harden slightly once they’ve had the chance to cool. So please be extremely careful while handling them, especially while they’re still warm!

They might hold their shape better after 1 day, or if they’re kept in the fridge. But once they’ve had the chance to cool down fully, I would say they’re on par with cookies you would find at a bakery or a café!

Almond Cookie Cereal Idea

Because these cookies crumble so easily, you can make an interesting almond cookie cereal by adding them to milk!

I discovered this accidently as I tried dipping them into milk, and they fell apart in the milk. But I’m glad they did!

Feel free to adjust the texture, as well as the intensity of the cookie taste of the cereal by adding more milk or cookie bits to it, according to your preferences. You could even try adding chocolate chips or other fun ingredients to it (but I have not tried this).

Keto

Having used almond flour instead of white four, and substituted erythritol for sugar, these make an excellent choice for a keto snack (as long as they’re eaten in moderation, as the chickpeas still contain more carbs).

Potentially Vegetarian or Vegan

For both vegetarians (who don’t consume eggs) and vegans, you can omit the egg yolks, and it’s still delicious! If you’re vegan, you can substitute unsalted butter for unsalted margarine. I have not yet tried making the vegan version of the recipe, so please let me know in the comments section how this turns out for you!

Gluten-Free

This recipe should be entirely gluten-free, unless of course one (or more) of the ingredients, such as the baking powder, contain traces of gluten in it. 

You can save the unused egg white (this recipe only requires an egg yolk, optionally) for another recipe in the future by freezing it in a container, mixed with a sprinkle of salt (if you intend to save it for a savoury recipe) or sugar (if you intend to save it for a sweet recipe) to better preserve the texture of the egg. You can find more tips on how to reduce food waste here.

Three keto almond cookies on a plate, placed on a folded dish towel. One cookie is bitten
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Doughy & Moist Keto Almond Chickpea Cookies

Deliciously doughy and moist cookies made from chickpeas (which you can't even taste!) and almond flour. Gluten-free and keto. Can potentially be made vegetarian or vegan.
Course Dessert, Snack
Keyword gluten-free, Keto
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 20 minutes
Servings 16 Cookies

Ingredients

  • 3/4 cup canned chickpeas
  • 3/4 cup almond flour
  • 3/4 tsp almond extract
  • 3-4 tbsp almond flakes for garnish, optional
  • 1/2 tsp gluten-free baking powder
  • 1/4 cup unsalted butter or margarine (if vegan)
  • 1/3 cup erythritol
  • 1 egg yolk (save the egg white for another use) optional. Omit if vegetarian (if you don't eat eggs) or vegan.
  • stevia or monk fruit to taste, optional

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
  • Rinse the chickpeas and add them, as well as all the other ingredients (except for the almond flakes) into a food processor and process until smooth.
  • If the mixture is too wet, add slightly more almond flour. 
  • Taste the mixture and add a few drops of stevia, monk fruit, or erythritol, if needed. If using, be careful not to add too much stevia or monk fruit, as they both have strong aftertastes and can potentially ruin a recipe. After each drop, taste it to see if it needs more before adding another drop.
  • Lay parchment paper on a pan and roll the mixture into balls, using about 2 tbsp of the mixture for each ball. Place each ball onto the lined pan, leaving a couple of inches or so of space between each cookie. 
  • Bake them for about 10 minutes.
  • Remove them from the oven and allow them to cool for at least 20 minutes. Since they are made using chickpeas, they will not harden like regular cookies and will be extremely tender, soft, and delicate, so you may need to be extra careful while handling them. The longer they are allowed to cool, the more “set” and solid they will turn out. Storing them in the fridge is ideal. Enjoy!

What do you think of this almond chickpea cookie recipe? Please let me know your thoughts in the comments section below!

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